Tag: class

As soon as I read the first page of this book that is released tomorrow; I knew I that I would love this tale and that it would be one of those ‘unputdownable’ novels. From the outset it is clear that this fictitious story that’s based on real life events has an underlying moral message.

When it opened with the nature and nurture debate on the first page, I was hooked.

We start with three men born 3 seconds apart in the same hospital. And we follow the twists and turns of their lives with their very different fates and fortunes guiding the way. And then we are transported by Sheldons’ words, back into the 1700s. His vivid descriptions bring to life the smells of the workhouse, the visuals of the muddy, dreary banks of London and the motivations and dreams of each of the main characters Hugo, Archibald and Mayer.

It is a compelling tale that has underlying messages about the class system of the this country, while it allows us to rethink some of our own beliefs that we may have had instilled in us from a young age. It bravely challenges us to challenge our own beliefs when we see how three men are divided and connected at the same time.

I couldn’t help but draw parallels with the issues raised in the story and the issues we are faced with today in Tory Britain. 300 years on from the time period of when this story is set, we are still faced with similar issues, such as attitudes towards migrants, poverty and education.

It’s quite a revelation despite being a politics graduate, to learn historical facts about the origins of money, debt and economics. I have learned so much that I had not expected to learn and I have actually now been inspired to research more into British history, and the origins of class and will probably be blogging about these subjects in the near future, thanks to Sheldon.

For those readers that might not normally be interested in these subjects, I would say that this story stands alone as an interesting, engaging and thought provoking story for anyone!

Even those not usually interested in politics or economics. And that is because this writer weaves facts in with a story that is captivating: we desperately need to know what happens to these characters who are motivated by very different things; money, power and love.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and like any good book I feel a little piece of this will stay with me forever.

My message to any potential reader would be to read this book and just enjoy the tale it tells. If you feel inspired as I do to reflect on the wider issues it addresses or if you find that Rolling Stones song reference (I challenge you to find it) then that is an added bonus!

Jacob Rees- Mogg a ‘deadbeat dad’ according to some, so why do the media portray him as a moral crusader?

Hearing Jacob Rees-Mogg this week brought back memories of my youth in the 1990s when Tory MPs often saw fit to take up moralising. There was John Redwood‘s condemnation of “young women [who] have babies with no apparent intention of even trying marriage or a stable relationship with the father of the child,” Peter Lilley‘s description of single mothers as “benefit-driven” and “undeserving” and of course then Prime Minister John Major’s ill fated ‘Back To Basics’ campaign in which he declared the Conservative Party as the Party of morality.

Of course, in the years that followed the Major government became synonymous with scandal as Tory MPs, too numerous to mention were outed for affairs and Major himself was revealed to have had a four year affair with Edwina Currie.

So, keeping with Tory tradition, Rees-Mogg, who once wrote an article in The Telegraph in defence of zero-hours contracts, is against foreign aid and who wishes to see the Human Rights Act abolished, this week gave his thoughts on abortion, a right won by women in this country in 1968, saying:

“The Catholic Church’s teachings are authoritative. There is a moral absolute on abortion — that it is wrong. To take a life after a rape is not the answer. Life begins at the point of conception. One can only feel compassion for a woman in these situations — which, of course are rare — but it’s hard to see how taking a child’s life makes them better.’

He, having voted against equal marriage, voiced his continued opposition to it.

Maybe he has not noticed that the sky has not fallen in since the fight for LGBTQ rights was won.

Asked whether he would attend a wedding ceremony where both participants were of the same sex he replied “It’s not for me to enforce my morals on others.”

I find this very odd, as if marrying the person you love and want to spend your life with has some sort of moral or immoral connotation.

You know what I see as being morally indefensible?

Voting for policies that encourage poverty, poor health and social division!!

Rees-Mogg’s voting record shows he has no interest in policies supporting better lives for children or families. For example he has

consistently voted against against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability

voted for the bedroom tax, against spending public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have spent a long time unemployed

voted against a law to make private vehicles smoke-free if a child is present

voted against calling on the Government to ensure women and protected groups are not disproportionately impacted by tax and benefit changes and against publication of a gender equality strategy to improve the position of women,

voted for ending financial support for some 16-19 year olds in training and further education

-I could go on.

Another thing I find immoral is people bringing children into this world and being dis-interested in bringing them up!

Rees-Mogg this week admitted that he is not a “modern man” and had never changed a nappy, despite being a father of 6 children!!

In response, former Deputy Labour Leader Harriet Harman, referred to him as a ‘deadbeat dad.’

Some may see Mogg’s children who attend the same £14,000 a year school Prince Charles attended as very privileged. The nanny they have is the same one who raised Rees-Mogg before he went to Eton.

Isn’t it odd that those of lower status who admit to not taking care of their own children, (and I do not mean when they are at work) are held up on various ‘poverty porn’ TV shows for ridicule, but wealthy people who absolve themselves of providing care for their own children are seen as ‘eccentric?’

I can just imagine the view some of the tory MPs would take of a mother of 6, maybe working a low paid job, maybe with rent arrears who had six children and said she could not change their nappies!